May 25, 1916] 



NATURE 



271 



sale in many cases of valuable products straight from 

 the laboratory. 



A great deal of the research work of the universities 

 is devoted to purely scientific investigations arising" in 

 connection with the preparation of degree theses by 

 students, and from work done by the staff in their 

 spare time. Apart from this, however, many inves- 

 tigations directed to the solution of particular manu- 

 facturing problems are carried out for private firms, 

 and in a number of cases experiment stations have 

 been arranged, the staff of which devote all their time, 

 or at least most of it, to research investigations. Pro- 

 minent examples of such experiment stations are those 

 of the Illinois State University, Massachusetts Insti- 

 tute of Technology (now incorporated with the School 

 of Engineering, Harvard University), Ohio State Uni- 

 versity (the experiment station of which has recently 

 been inaugurated), and the Universities of Iowa, Kan- 

 sas, etc. 



In connection with Columbia University, it is pro- 

 posed to erect a laboratory specifically devoted to re- 

 search, the cost of which it is estimated will be of the 

 order of 130,000/. for buildings and equipment, and 

 it is expected that an endowment fund for extension 

 and maintenance of from 400,000/. to i,ooo,oooi. will 

 be required. This proposal appears to be inspired 

 to some extent by the success of the research labora- 

 tories associated with the large industrial corpora- 

 tions already referred to, and it is realised that there 

 are many smaller manufacturers who are unable to 

 support individually the burden of such laboratories 

 who would be glad to avail themselves of the oppor- 

 tunities which this university research laboratory would 

 afford. 



An important feature of the proposal is the intention 

 of devoting means to the collection of all possible 

 information bearing on the industrial problems that 

 are likely to be considered. 



The most striking feature of the research work of 

 the universities is this provision of research facilities 

 and the use of a staff of highly trained scientific men 

 who can devote their whole efforts to scientific investi- 

 gation without the handicap of a great deal of teach- 

 ing work, and as well as of financial anxiety. It is 

 also noticeable that increasing numbers of young men 

 who have taken their bachelor's degree proceed to a 

 doctor's degree, possibly on account of the opportuni- 

 ties for employment now- presented by the increasing 

 number of research laboratories for men of the highest 

 scientific training. 



While the students themselves do not generally par- 

 ticipate in the investigational work of the experiment 

 stations, this work cannot fail to be of considerable 

 inspirational value to them. 



The researches of the experiment stations are freely 

 published, and in connection with the Illinois State 

 University more than eighty important bulletins have 

 already been issued, some of them comprising the most 

 authoritative work on the subjects with which they 

 deal. 



The work of the Mellon Institute of Industrial Re- 

 search, associated with the University of Pittsburg, 

 has often been described in the English Press. Manu- 

 facturers are invited to bring their problems to the 

 director of the institute, and to provide fellowships to 

 support the men who will carr>' out their investiga- 

 tions. Usually these fellowships are tenable for a period 

 of one or more years, and may be of the value of from 

 looL to 400I. or 500Z., according to the nature of the 

 investigation. The director then selects suitable men 

 from the universities or other institutions, who proceed 

 to the manufacturer's works, study the problem under 

 practical conditions, and then carry out the investiga- 

 tional work in the laboratories provided by the insti- 

 tute, under the supervision of a permanent scientific 

 . NO. 2430, VOL. 97] 



staff. Some seventy-five researches have already been 

 carried out during ihe past four years, including such 

 subjects as copper leaching, cement manufacture, 

 timber preservation, smoke prevention, glass produc- 

 tion, bread-making, paper manufacturing, etc. 



Important features ot the work of the institute com- 

 prise the educative influence it has on the manufac- 

 turers in focussing their attention on the possibilities 

 of industrial research, and the fact that many of the 

 young men who have successfully carried out re- 

 searches have been absorbed into the industry with 

 which they were temporarily associated, and in this 

 way become powerful advocates for industrial research. 

 To a limited extent this process tends to the per- 

 meation of industry with young men having keen 

 appreciation of the application of science in industry. 



Of the national institutions, the most important is 

 that of the Bureau of Standards, which at present does 

 a great deal of investigational work for the Govern- 

 ment departments, and is prepared to carry out re- 

 searches where it can be shown that these are likely 

 to benefit an appreciable section of the public, in 

 which case it is done at the public expense. Already 

 in this connection much valuable work has been done 

 in such subjects as the manufacture of refrigerating 

 machiner}', paper-making, investigation of alloys, etc. 



A series of publications is issued by the Bureau of 

 Standards comprising popular and technological bulle- 

 tins, and bulletins recording the results of scientific 

 investigations. 



The Department of Agriculture is of some interest 

 in that it carries on a scheme of investigational work 

 on national lines. Connected with it are some 

 hundreds of experiment stations in different parts of 

 the States, w-hich deal with experimental work relat- 

 ing to the growth of crops, including fertilisers, pests, 

 etc., cattle-breeding, including the treatment of various 

 diseases. Bulletins are issued to the agricultural com- 

 munities, both in popular and scientific form, and 

 the organisation provides for lectures dealing with 

 special features of interest to different sections of the 

 agricultural community. 



While there is as yet no national plan of industrial 

 research, there are tendencies in that direction, some 

 of which are directed to linking up the efforts of the 

 universities, the extension of the experiment station 

 scheme to a number of universities and colleges, and 

 the co-ordination of the work of some of the existing 

 laboratories connected with industrial concerns. In 

 this connection there is always the evidence of the 

 successful working of the Department of Agriculture 

 to serve as an inspiration to those who desire to see 

 national scientific facilities made applicable to manu- 

 facturing interests. 



The work done in the United States is of consider- 

 able value in enabling us to shape our own schemes 

 with reference to research, and although this country 

 is considerably behind in the development of such 

 schemes, considerable advantage accrues in being able 

 to make use of the experience the States have already 

 gained. Of that experience full use should be made. 



The distinguishing feature of work done in America 

 is that it is mainly in the hands of private companies, 

 and is carried out in order that one company may 

 compete more effectively with another. The develop- 

 ment of the internal resources of the country has 

 occupied most attention, and little work has been done 

 with a view to encouraging export trade. In this 

 country our export trade is of the first importance, 

 and it is here that the country feels the pinch of 

 German competition. The opportunity, therefore, 

 arises to take the greatest possible advantage of laxity 

 in the past and at the same time to take steps to con- 

 serve our overseas trade. 



This can only effectively be done by co-operating 



